Intercultural PR- Do I Really Know What I Want To Do?

Do I Really Know What I Want to do?

Jen Murphy

I came to Denver shortly after spending a school year teaching English at a private school in Nablus, Palestine. I liked the idea of international education programs, but especially the idea of being the director of my own study abroad program. I studied abroad in Cork, Ireland, during my undergrad days and absolutely loved it. When I came to DU I was sure that this was what I wanted to focus on. And then, well, it got a little fuzzy.

My first month here I was working full-time as a graduate student assistant for the University of Denver Publishing Institute. Classes weren’t in session yet, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to work and explore Denver, as part of my job duties were running errands and serving as a chauffeur to guest lecturers from across the U.S.  I loved working with these graduate certificate students and I loved working with people from all different areas of the industry, including editors, independent publishers, literary agents, among many others. I started thinking, wait, is this what I want to do?

When the full time part of the job ended, I picked up another job at the DU library working in the Stacks department. When I wasn’t at the Publishing Institute office I was pulling books for patrons, re-shelving them, and completing other tasks involved in the upkeep of the library. Then I thought, well I loved volunteering at my local library before I joined the Peace Corps, am I better fit to be a librarian? I do love to read…

Once school started I had less time to ponder such questions, as I was working these two jobs on campus, as well as taking two classes per quarter. While two classes doesn’t sound like a lot to an undergrad, in grad school two classes is full-time and kept me busy. I was taking one of the required classes for the program, International Communication, and a course called Strategic Management of Communication Campaigns. Through this course in strategic communications I learned more about the public relations profession, as well as what it is like to work with a local NGO with international programs. Does this mean that I should get into nonprofit management?

This quarter I am taking two classes in communications: Foundations in International and Intercultural Communication and International and Intercultural Public Relations, as well as a class in International Project Analysis at the Korbel School of International Studies. I have realized this quarter that I could work in the publishing industry, or in a library, or in the PR or nonprofit sector. The most important thing for me is realizing which parts of these different career options I like and don’t like, and hopefully I will find something that combines most of them. Who knows, I could end up working as a library consultant for a nonprofit organization in the Middle East or West Africa. I do know I want to work abroad, my time in the Peace Corps and teaching in Nablus taught me that. Now I have two more quarters to fine tune my future plans.

Intercultural PR- Sports in Intercultural Communication

The Importance of Sports in Intercultural Communication

Jen Murphy

Any person who has ever spoken with me, even for a few minutes, knows one thing: I have a mild obsession with sports. The use of the word mild is to make myself feel better. I am obsessed. Talk to me after a loss of my favorite baseball team, the Oakland Athletics, especially in the fifth game of the playoffs to the Detroit Tigers AGAIN, and you will begin to understand why my roommate avoids talking to me after such losses. Now, why would I bring this conversation into a discussion about intercultural communication or intercultural PR? Because a major avenue for discussion among and between groups who often don’t speak the same language is sports.

I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I used this event to bond with members of my community by going to the recreation center and other sports cafes around town to watch these games with them. Even if we weren’t rooting for the same teams, as I was rooting for the U.S against Ghana, we still could enjoy watching them together. Ultimately, the U.S. did lose to Ghana, but I continued to go to local establishments to watch with my community members. It was a way to show them that we had this one thing in common, our love for football, and it also helped build my credibility with the youth in my town who saw me watching the games.

The World Cup and the Olympic Games are both international sporting events that are about sports, yes, but often include a high level of public diplomacy. This quarter, in the Intercultural PR class, we have discussed the Sochi Olympics nearly every day. We have discussed the national branding that has gone into promoting the games, how Vladimir Putin has presented himself and responded to the storm of public and media attention when he passed anti-gay laws prior to the Olympics, as well as looked at what different media outlets have focused on. The U.S. media has mainly focused on the problems in Sochi, including human rights issues and infrastructure issues, and has used it as more of a way to show how Russia still isn’t in the same league as the U.S.

I haven’t been watching these games consistently, and actually have only watched a few of the hundreds of hours of coverage for various reasons. One reason I haven’t watched as much of the coverage as in previous years, is that these games seem to be much more about the political and social issues in Russia and less about the actual events. Sports should be an avenue to spark friendly competition and a place to talk about something that brings people together, not tear them apart. Don’t get me wrong, I was just as upset as the next person when the U.S. women’s hockey team lost in overtime, after leading 2-0 with less than four minutes left. However, that game will not likely be what remains in the public consciousness. Instead the face of these games is Vladimir Putin, and not the events or athletes themselves.

Intercultural PR- Importance of Identity With Communication

Importance of Identity With Communication- Yessenia Cano

            Have you ever pondered in all seriousness who you are? What kind of identity do you identify with and why? In one of our communications class the professor gave us an exercise to write down at least ten major factors that make up our identity, and I must say, it was a very difficult exercise to complete. It was difficult because it was hard to put my identity in words and to specify factors that influenced my identity. In Curtin et al’s article they discuss how identity is formed through relations with others and heavily influenced by daily situations that will constantly be changing our identities. So why is identity important for communications in general? It’s important, in my opinion, because you have to be aware of who you are yourself in order to have a connection with others and to have successful communication. Especially in intercultural and international communications where the different customs and ideals might challenge you, having a strong sense of your identity will help you be more open to others and will even help strengthen your identity. To have meaningful communication with others they usually want to understand you fully, so how would they be able to understand you if you yourself have issues with your identity? I discuss this from a personal level because I myself have identity issues from being a Third Culture child and sometimes I find myself having trouble connecting with others, but communications classes are teaching me and broadening my knowledge to learn and strengthen my communication skills that will help me also find my true identity.

Resources

Curtin, A. Patricia, Gaither, T. Kenn. (2009). Contested Notions of Issue Identity in International Public Relations: A Case Study. Journal of Public Relations Research. V. 18, 1. 67 – 89.

Intercultural PR- Is a Truly Global PR Campaign Possible?

Is a truly global PR campaign possible?

In our International and Intercultural Public Relations class, we were asked to evaluate a case study of a public relations campaign, assessing the strengths, weaknesses and overall success of the campaign. I chose the WWF ‘Earth Hour’ International PR campaign that won Best International PR Campaign at the Cannes Lions 2009.

In brief, the campaign sought to promote lasting change and positively impact the environment by asking the world to switch off its lights for one hour on March 28, 2009. The movement began in Australia in 2007, went global in 2008, and in 2009, the campaign was transformed into a “vote” (by switching off your lights) for international leaders to take action against climate change. The main goals were to reach 1 billion+ people, 50+ countries and over 1000 cities and to influence global leaders to address global warming.

As an international campaign, the WWF had to appeal to things that are common among all cultures, taking a culture-general approach. With globalization, commonalities are often linked to the English language, and more Western norms and customs. Therefore, taking the approach of a democratic election and using English as the base language appealed to the largest audience. However, in doing so, the campaign was limited in its reach. Not only did it alienate non-democratic and non-English speaking countries, but it also relied heavily on social media, excluding countries with little or no Internet access.

The WWF’s biggest success was releasing control of the campaign and putting the resources in the hands of individuals to deliver the message in culturally appropriate ways that appealed to people like them. One suggestion for improvement would be to take a more holistic approach to the issue of climate change. Perhaps choose specific issues from regions all around the world and then, playing off the success of interactivity, ask communities to share what climate change means to them or how it has affected their livelihood.

So, while I believe that WWF did an excellent job on this campaign, I do not believe that it was truly global. What do you think could have made it more inclusive?

Student Spotlight- Adam Stuart

IIC Student Spotlight

1) What undergraduate college did you attend? Where?

I achieved a BBA from The Eastern Michigan University's College of Business

2) What was your undergraduate focus?

My focus was in Information Technology and Systems Management, with a minor in Psychology

3) How did you become interested in the IIC Program?

I had been searching Peace Corps Fellows programs for a unique mix between International Studies and Journalism, and having lived in Colorado before Peace Corps, I was especially drawn to Denver.

5) What is your favorite place where you've traveled/lived so far?

I usually answer that Turkey is my favorite place to visit.  I used to love Italy for many of the same reasons, including excellent food, a Mediterranean climate, mountains, history, and a complex cultural component; however, the commercialization of Italy under the European Union is homogenizing much of the best of Italy.  My favorite place to live, although I stayed for several months in Istanbul, will likely always be my little village of Chisenga in Northern Malawi, where I served in the Peace Corps.

6) Do you have a dream job? What?

My dream job would be to run a specialized NGO here in the United States, the details of which are still being hashed out.  Either that, or I would love to be an international journalist.

7) What is your favorite part about the IIC program thus far (i.e. favorite class)?

Professor Thompson's class is extremely engaging and a wonderful foundation in communications for a non-communications undergrad.  Just the same, my favorite class at Korbel has been Conflict Resolution with Karen Feste where we simulated a live, 8 hour negotiation between delegations of Palestine, Israel, the Russian Federation, The EU, and others.

8) Anything else you would like to share?

I'm thinking of taking the documentary film making class in order to get some hands on experience going along with some journalism, too.  However, a class in investigative journalism or photography for journalists would be amazing!